By Joshua Burd
A historic office building in downtown Newark is one step closer to becoming nearly 200 units of affordable housing after securing a pledge for more than $93 million in state tax credits.
Its developer, an affiliate of The Berger Organization, received approval for the subsidies during the Economic Development Authority’s monthly board meeting on Wednesday. They include an $81.05 million tax credit under the state’s Aspire program, which will support its plan to convert the long-vacant Firemen’s Insurance Building at 10 Park Place to 196 residential units for lower- and moderate-income renters along with 6,647 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
Additionally, the proposal is eligible for a separate tax credit of $12 million under the state’s Historic Property Reinvestment Program, which the EDA also approved on Wednesday.
Construction is slated to begin in March 2026, the EDA, noting the $148 million project will take roughly 26 months to complete. That will include new utility systems and the reconstruction of each floor to accommodate the new residential layout, as well as new elevator cabs and upgrades to the basement and roof to support resident amenities.
The EDA said the Aspire tax credit will provide gap financing to the Berger affiliate, 10 Park Place Newark LLC, which has executed a purchase sale agreement with 2 Park Place Associates LLC and Firemen’s Building LLC. The developer’s co-applicant is an affiliate of Housing On Merit, Los Angeles-based nonprofit that will deliver and manage services that such as coordinating supportive social services for residents, with a focus on case management and connecting tenants to local resources.
The authority added that the converted 10-story building, which is adjacent to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, will include floorplans ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. Residents will also live along the city’s refurbished Military Park and steps from dining and retail options, while they’ll be a short walk from Newark Light Rail service.
The project team includes Rawlings Architecture and CM & Associates, a New York City-based construction management and general contracting firm.
Berger, which has owned property in Newark for some five decades, received approval last year for a 10-year, $90 million Aspire award that would support a new 396-unit apartment tower on Fulton Street. Its existing holdings in the city include office buildings at 33 Washington St., 58 Park Place, 570 Broad St. and the Military Park Building at 60 Park Place, along with the Robert Treat Hotel and the TRYP by Wyndham Newark Downtown.
EDA officials have noted with past approvals that Aspire, which was created by the New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020, is a place-based economic development program to support mixed-use, transit-oriented development with tax credits to commercial and residential projects that have financing gaps. All residential Aspire projects must include at least 20 percent affordable housing, while applicants must certify that all commitments established at time of approval have been met before receiving their first disbursement of tax credits.
Berger secures $90 million EDA tax credit award for planned 396-unit high-rise in Newark
